“I’ve been wanting to ask you what your deal is with your family,” he said as he sank into the chair beside her, “but I think I have a pretty good idea now. Do they always treat you like that, or is it just me they don’t like?”
“It isn’t just you,” she replied quietly. “But them not liking you or me going out with you is definitely making the problem worse. I’m sorry, Jeremiah. I never wanted to drag you into the middle of my family’s dysfunction, and I certainly didn’t want them to make you the scapegoat for it.”
“It’s okay. It doesn’t have any impact on how I feel about you.”
She finally turned her gaze on him and managed a faint smile. He leaned over and hugged her, laughing when Murph tried to wiggle into the embrace, too. He didn’t like the sadness in her eyes—it was worse than the
